Day 6 - June 21, 2007 Tour of the Louvre
We got up early so that we could catch the bus to the Louvre Museum to meet a friend of Carole's who was to give us a guide tour of the museum. We finally found the bus stop and rode it to the museum. Everyone in our group went, since this would be one of the highlights of our trip.
The museum had 8.3 million visitors last year so you can imagine how busy it was. You enter the museum through a glass pyramid which was built in 1989. You take an elevator down through the pyramid to the main entrance of the museum. It was quite warm in the entrance and it made me wonder if they used air conditioning. It was comfortable once we got into the museum exhibits.
We saw the remains of the first Castle of the Louvre which was begun in 1535. It was amazing to see something that old. We also enjoyed seeing and hearing the history behind Venus de Milo (130 -90 BC), The Nike of Samothrace (190 BC), paintings, "The Wedding of Cana" and Mona Lisa. Our guide spent a lot of time with "The Wedding of Cana" and its artistic symbolism and we sat there mesmerized.
Thursday night we went out to eat with Mario, another friend of my sister and her husband. Mario is a profession chef and we had fun letting him order for us. I'm sure that he was utterly dismayed by us but seemed to enjoy the time with us. The food was not your ordinary Picadilly food! Someone ended up with snails and my mom ended up with a type of raw meat that was cut paper thin. She would not eat it and that is first time I saw my mom refuse to eat something. I stayed safe by going with baked chicken and potatoes. It was delicious. We were brought out sparkling water and I thoroughly enjoyed it while the rest of our group wouldn't drink it. I like anything that is cold. We were given extra ice at this restaurant and that was nice.
Thursday was National Day of Music and there were free music concerts all over the city. Carole took the girls down the street where a band was performing. Anna told Carole that they probably didn't know "Sweet Home Alabama" and Carole told her that she'd give her 10 euros if she'd ask. Well, when money is involved, Anna is up to the challenge. She asked them and they did know the tune and sang the first couple stanzas of it. Anna was tickled pink and 10 euros richer!
It was a good day! Thanks Aunt Carole!!!
The museum had 8.3 million visitors last year so you can imagine how busy it was. You enter the museum through a glass pyramid which was built in 1989. You take an elevator down through the pyramid to the main entrance of the museum. It was quite warm in the entrance and it made me wonder if they used air conditioning. It was comfortable once we got into the museum exhibits.
We saw the remains of the first Castle of the Louvre which was begun in 1535. It was amazing to see something that old. We also enjoyed seeing and hearing the history behind Venus de Milo (130 -90 BC), The Nike of Samothrace (190 BC), paintings, "The Wedding of Cana" and Mona Lisa. Our guide spent a lot of time with "The Wedding of Cana" and its artistic symbolism and we sat there mesmerized.
Thursday night we went out to eat with Mario, another friend of my sister and her husband. Mario is a profession chef and we had fun letting him order for us. I'm sure that he was utterly dismayed by us but seemed to enjoy the time with us. The food was not your ordinary Picadilly food! Someone ended up with snails and my mom ended up with a type of raw meat that was cut paper thin. She would not eat it and that is first time I saw my mom refuse to eat something. I stayed safe by going with baked chicken and potatoes. It was delicious. We were brought out sparkling water and I thoroughly enjoyed it while the rest of our group wouldn't drink it. I like anything that is cold. We were given extra ice at this restaurant and that was nice.
Thursday was National Day of Music and there were free music concerts all over the city. Carole took the girls down the street where a band was performing. Anna told Carole that they probably didn't know "Sweet Home Alabama" and Carole told her that she'd give her 10 euros if she'd ask. Well, when money is involved, Anna is up to the challenge. She asked them and they did know the tune and sang the first couple stanzas of it. Anna was tickled pink and 10 euros richer!
It was a good day! Thanks Aunt Carole!!!
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